Brief report from the front, June 21, 2025

Another breach has been made in the difficult terrain of the DPR border area. Report by Marat Khairullin with illustrations by Mikhail Popov.

ЛБС=Line of Combat Contact

The "East" Group of the Russian Forces continues to destroy a large defensive node of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Novopavlovka-Ivanovka-Poddubnoye-Filiya (in an area of ​​approximately 8 x 12 km), in the difficult terrain of the DPR border area. The villages of Zaporozhye (about 100 residents), Yalta (about 140 residents), and Zvezda (Ukrainian: Zirka, about 150 residents) - the forward area of ​​this defense hub - are located on the northwestern slope of the watershed of the Volchya and Mokrye Yaly rivers while the flanks and rear of this defense area are protected behind the Volchya and Mokrye Yaly rivers. The liberation of the village of Zaporozhye has created a breach in the defense of this area. (The Volchya River, "Волчья" is in blue right next to Dachnoe. The Mokrye Yaly, "Мокрые Ялы" can be seen passing through Tolstoy and in front of Poddubnoe, Mirnoe, and Perebudova.)

In order to ensure the advancement of units of the nearby "Center" Group of the Russian Forces to the north - along the Volchya River (in the direction of Novoukrainka-Filiya) and to solve the operational tasks in its zone of responsibility of eliminating the defense area of ​​the Ukrainian Armed Forces Voskresenka-Kamyshevka-Shevchenko, the "East" group needs tight control of the territory on the west bank of the Mokrye Yaly River.

Further south, in the Veseloye-Fyodorovka (Fedorovka on the map) area, a small bridgehead has been created on the west bank, but the enemy is located on a higher section of terrain with support on the Iskra-Shevchenko road and is preventing its expansion.

After capturing the Zvezda (Zirka) - Yalta - Zaporozhye area and reaching the Poddubnoe - K. Marksa (Mirnoe) line, where the resistance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Perebudova (Perestroika) will be overcome, and the network of AFU strongholds, Poddubnoe - Mirnoe (K. Marksa) - Perebudova (Perestroika), will be destroyed, which cover the left flank of the Voskresenka - Kamyshevakha - Shevchenko defense node, units of the Russian Armed Forces will ensure a broad frontal path to the state border of the Russian Federation* on the Voskresenka - Maliyevka - Kamyshevakha - Temirovka line.

*Translator Note: In case it isn't clear, the "state border of the Russian Federation” is the border with the Dnepropetrovsk Oblast.

Bonus commentary from Mikhail:

On Substack, in the responses to a post from 17.6.25, the first comment asks why Russia does not destroy bridges and logistics deep in the territory of Ukraine.

The answer may be as follows:

If Russia strikes at the logistics of Ukraine and Poland, this is not so great because:

1. The expenditure of expensive weapons on inexpensive targets: the routes of movement will be quickly restored and deep in the territory there are many bypass routes and delivery options. Destroying a capital bridge is a difficult and very expensive task.

It is advantageous to destroy a bridge in the area of ​​direct combat operations in order to impede the maneuver of forces and means when the enemy needs to maneuver quickly

2. The weapons will remain intact and combat-ready.

Russia's goal is demilitarization, which means the destruction of the armed forces and weapons of Ukraine.

And in the way Russia acts, Ukraine itself (with its own money and the money of the West) delivers "raw materials to the meat grinder" and there the weapons are turned into scrap metal. They simply cease to exist, and the economies of Ukraine's allied states cannot compensate for this.